Opting Out

From the award-winning author/illustrator of GENDER QUEER and a bright new talent, the story of a kid named Saachi, who is navigating friendship woes, sister issues, a new crush, and a resistance to blue-and-pink binaries.

Bodies are the worst. I wish I didn't have a body.

Saachi is a storyteller. At her small junior high, she's surrounded by kids she's known forever -- including her best friend, Lyla, who shares Saachi's love of fantasy novels and creating new worlds.

But as seventh grade starts, people are changing. Suddenly it matters who likes whom, and it seems like everyone is coupling up. Even Lyla seems more interested in hanging out with Brian than in writing and drawing with Saachi anymore. Saachi's not interested in any of that boy/girl stuff. Why can't things just stay the way they were? Saachi longs to have the freedom of her little sister Samaira, whose elaborate fantasy game with her friends feels safe and comfortable.

As Saachi starts her period and has to sit through the puberty lessons in school, she grows more and more detached from her physical self. She doesn't want her body to change. Why does she have to become more "girl"? What if she doesn't feel like a girl -- or quite like a boy, either? Couldn't she just opt out of both genders? Does such a thing even exist?

Opting Out is a thoughtful exploration of what it means to grow up, both physically and emotionally, with a diverse cast of characters and an honest assessment of the limitations of social and societal binaries. Maia Kobabe (Gender Queer) and Lucky Srikumar each bring pieces of their own stories into Saachi's explorations of identity and belonging.